1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the field of medical devices, and more specifically, to a compact, hand-held tool that combines various instruments used to diagnose neurological conditions.
2. Description of the Related Art
Neurologists use a number of different instruments to perform various diagnostic functions on their patients, and physicians who are not neurologists (for example, family practitioners or emergency physicians), as well as nurse practitioners and chiropractors, also need to be able to perform neurological tests on occasion. Neurologists may need to perform these tests when they are not in the office and do not have access to their customary supply of instruments. Other health care providers may not have access to all of the neurological diagnostic tools that neurologists have, yet they may be called upon to perform diagnostic neurological tests. In addition, a health care provider may be called upon to perform a diagnostic test rapidly (as, for example, in an emergency room situation), when there is no time to search for the appropriate instrument. For all of these reasons, there is a need for a compact and portable tool that combines various instruments used to perform diagnostic neurological tests. Furthermore, it is preferable to have a tool in which the instruments can be used without being removed from the tool so that they cannot be lost or misplaced. Currently, a physician must carry or have access to a number of different instruments in order to perform these various tests.
The instruments that are used to perform these tests include, but are not limited to, the two-point discriminator, which is used to tell whether a patient can distinguish between two points of contact, the light-touch brush, which is used to determine whether a patient can feel soft touch on the skin, the sharp-dull instrument, which is used to test a patient's ability to distinguish sharp from dull, the Taylor-type and Buck-type hammers, which are used to test a patient's reflexes, and the Wartenberg wheel, which is rolled over a patient's skin on the back, chest or elsewhere to determine the level of a spinal cord lesion. All of these tools exist in prior art, but they have never, to the inventors' knowledge, been combined in a single compact tool as in the present invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,269,820 (Karatsu, 1918) deals with one of the first compact neurological diagnostic tools to be patented. This patent describes an esthesiometer, which combines a brush for detecting sensitivity, two blunt-headed surface sensibility detectors, and two needle points slidably mounted inside the detectors.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,315,160 (Newstedt et al., 1943) relates to a compact neurological tool that combines a tuning fork, a percussion head, a brush, and an esthesiometer comprised of two needles pivotally connected to each other. The tuning fork functions as the handle for the percussion head, and the esthesiometer screws onto and is removable from the unit.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,330,882 (Gray, 1943) provides a reflex hammer with a Wartenberg wheel located inside of the hammer head and a handle comprising two pivotable arms that can be used as a two-point discriminator. In contrast to the Marsh design patent discussed below, the handle connects to the hammer head at one end of the hammer head rather than in the center of the hammer head.
U.S. Pat. No. 136,273 (Brandenburg, 1943) provides an ornamental design for a combined neurological hammer, brush and needle. The needle unscrews from the top of the hammer, and the brush unscrews from the hollow handle of the tool.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,532,093 (Golub et al., 1950) covers a neurological hammer With a brush and needles hidden inside of the handle. The brush and needle are both removable from the unit.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,908,268 (Guest, 1959) discloses a neurological diagnostic tool comprising a hammer, scratching element, tuning fork, and measuring tape. The unit optionally comprises extra bores or sockets that may be used for readily insertable and removable accessories, such as a needle or brush.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,185,146 (Leopoldi, 1965) provides a collapsible neurological hammer with a removable brush and pin. The hammer head has a relatively large end and a relatively small end and is pivotable so that the device can be collapsed for storage.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,344,781 (Allen, 1964) describes a multi-purposes neurological diagnostic tool comprised of a tuning fork, reflex hammer, Wartenberg wheel, and brush. The tuning fork, hammer, Wartenberg wheel, and brush are all separable from one another.
U.S. Pat. No. D204,651 (Laughlin, 1966) shows a neurological percussion hammer in which a needle and brush are stored within the head of the hammer. The needle and brush are both removable.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,515,125 (Ruskin, 1967) involves a neurological diagnostic tool comprising a disc-shaped hammer head that is moveable to one of two positions relative to the handle. In one position, the hammer head is perpendicular to the handle, and in the other position, it is parallel to the handle. The handle incorporates a Wartenberg wheel and a blunt projection for testing plantar reflexes.
U.S. Pat. No. D209,940 (Marsh, 1968) depicts a neurological diagnostic instrument comprising a hammer head and a handle comprising two pivotable arms that can be used to as a two-point discriminator. A Wartenberg wheel is provided inside one side of the hammer head.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,406,436 (Schiffman, 2002) involves a compact physical examination instrument comprising a battery-operated penlight device, a pin prick mechanism, a reflex hammer and/or measuring device, and a vibratory mechanism. The pin prick mechanism includes a rotatable and completely removable pin dispenser carousel. The reflex hammer head is preferably rotatable and circular so that it can also be used to measure distance.